Heart and soul

[jianai]

[1]
[In order to get better as a pilot and not wreck a mobile suit each time they're piloting, Ren is doing some good old fashioned physical exercise.]

And one, and two...

[Running laps around Alhambra Base - with a lack of haste that'd cause any drill sergeant worth their salt to pop a vein or a dozen. But what's this - 15, 20, 30 laps around the base done, and Ren isn't even sweaty yet.

Comment? Or maybe join in, if you dare?]

[2]
[Some time after the exercise, but directed at whomever seems willing to listen.]

Do you believe in the afterlife?

Comments

[jianai]

When the physical world turns to sadness, you seek refuge in the spiritual. Or maybe it's just me?

Also, I thought it would make an interesting conversation topic.

I agree with your judgement. The good are rewarded, and the wicked punished. Whether you are a member of one faith or another does nothing on itself. It's neither goor or evil, so it shouldn't matter.

[ugyuuya]

Wouldn't have thought you'd be one to get bogged down in sadness like the rest of us Ren. So I guess it's fair game to turn the question around. I would assume you do but what's your take on it? I know with the entities we've met it really throws a wrench in things as far as "People's souls go to heaven" with sentient robots that can split their souls to make more of themselves. And that's just the tip of the iceberg really.

[jianai]

I do not know what form it takes, but I do believe in the afterlife for those who have souls. They don't have to be humans. For example, I am certain Optimus Prime and his kind have souls despite being machines.

[ugyuuya]

You seem awfully specific about those that have souls, is there something that believe does not have a soul?

[jianai]

Let's consider...

[Ren looks around.]

This wall terminal? It'd be. It's a machine, it does not have a soul. Even if you make it more advanced and equip it with an artificial intelligence, it won't suddenly start having a soul.

Now, I am not saying that our mechanical friends have no souls. The Autobots have evolved naturally - they are just not biological like humans.

No, I am talking about myself.

[ugyuuya]

So you're trying to say that you, as a one of the most accepting and kindest people out there, don't have a soul?

I'd say you're wrong on that one because if you're a soulless entity what real hope do the rest of us have?

[jianai]

Kindness and personality do not have anything to do with having a soul or lacking one. At least, that's what I believe.

The fact that I don't have a soul is just that though - a fact.

[ugyuuya]

That's an unusual belief. Most people assume that a soul is required for any type of emotion. It's why some people object to robots and and why those people who make hard decisions based on logic get it thrown into their faces by others.

I'd be more interested in hearing why you so readily accept that you don't have a soul. It seems at odds with your personality.

[jianai]

Yes, let's get to the point then.

[Ren glances around for a seat. This could take a while.]

In body and mind I was already an adult when I was born. This brings a question - how I had the knowledge necessary to live in society?

You see, while I developed inside a cloning vat, all that required knowledge was already being transferred into my brain. It was an automated process. It's like copying data into a computer.

Among that knowledge were basics of how my psychic abilities work like. In order to, hmm - how to say it? I am a layman myself so I'll explain from a layman's perspective.

I am tapping into the world as it exists, as a whole. Or maybe it's the unified human consciousness? Either way, a soul has a strong sense of self and individuality. It'd reject this type of power.

Only a soulless being could accept it.

[ugyuuya]

Or a more pure soul than a normal human is capable of. I do not believe that human science could so easily achieve such a feat as creating a living being with no soul.

An AI will always follow programming no matter the situation and no matter how "alive" it seems. You've already proven that you are capable of true sentience and your own will. I do not believe that any entity could have a true will of it's own without a soul.

[jianai]

I'm glad you believe that, Yuuya. You really are a true egalitarian.

I wish I knew more about the individuals who created me. It'd be enlightening, to hear more about their more... questionable decisions.

[Ren smiles sadly.]

Well, in the end we will just have to live with it.